Thursday, January 29, 2015

Dear Father is
not a book anyone would expect me – an older, suburban, white woman – to read. Author J. Ivy is a hip-hop poet and a Grammy
Award winner for his work with Jay-Z and Kanye West and my musical interests
tend toward Gershwin, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, and Mozart. To write this
review I had to “Google” how to spell Kanye
and Jay-Z. In addition I grew up in a small town with not only my father
and mother but all four of my grandparents close by to rear and cherish me. So
what is it about this hip-hop poet’s words about learning to forgive his absent
father that resonated with me so?

First, understand how I came to this book. I select most titles based on what publicists
think I might like or on what I read in publications like Publishers Weekly.
This book was different; I learned of it a few days ago as I listened to J. Ivy’s
interview on NPR while heading down the expressway. By the time I got out of my
car, J. Ivy had captured my heart. I
wanted to know more about his work to get children to write. I wanted to learn
about his family, and I really wanted to know how forgiveness had saved him. Later
that day I downloaded his book onto my e-reader and entered J. Ivy’s
world. I found myself reading his poetry
out loud so his words encircled me with their rhythm, emotion, ebullience, and
melancholy.

I soon learned that Ivy had transferred to the high
school my children attended where he was a year ahead of my daughter. His
description of moving from the south side of Chicago to the suburbs where a
teacher encouraged his poetry and where he received a standing ovation in a
student show reinforced my beliefs in the power of equal education for all and in
encouraging everyone to use their talents.

“The school had its cool kids, its nerds, its athletes – all sorts of
cliques – just like my other schools had; only difference was, some were black,
some were white, some were Chinese, some were Puerto Rican, and some were
Mexican. . . . It was my first time talking to white kids at length. We were
actually sitting next to each other, holding conversations, realizing that some
of us were neighbors. . . . We were
eating the same food together at lunch. We were learning together. . . . We
were breaking down the transparent barriers that society had historically
placed between us. . . .

What I was experiencing had to be a microcosm of what the pioneers of
integration lived. . . . Sitting in a classroom that used to be all white. Unifying
with cultures that you had barely spoken to before this time. . . . I finally understood what Dr. King meant by
his I Have a Dream speech. I felt
like a soldier for equality seeing clearly that culture was actually a prism of
many different facets and many different faces that were from many different
places and backgrounds. I got it, but my young mind was shocked by the
discovery.”

This book made me care about J. Ivy. I was grateful
for his faith and how it grounded him. I mourned with him when his father died
and if I ever meet his mother she’s in for a very big hug. I’ve long been a
student of forgiveness and have often wondered why it’s so hard to explain the
concept to the young. J. Ivy is reaching
a generation that needs to learn to forgive.
His Dear Father Letter Writing Workshops help children learn to write
away their problems and see that there’s a way out and his wisdom is for
everyone. He writes:

“We all make mistakes. We all will make
more. The key is not to judge but to focus on your purpose. Despite what anyone
may have done in the past, you’re still standing. You’re still able to move
forward in your life. You are still awarded with the ability to dream, create,
and find happiness. But in order for us to find these joys, we have to forgive.
And when the mechanics of our mind flash back to yesteryear, we have to
remember that . . .

Forgiveness

Is

REMEMBERING

To forgive again,

And again,

And again,

And . . .”

Summing it Up: Read this book for a pure emotional
ride that will make you glad you live in a country that values education. Tumble into the world of words J. Ivy
creates. Read his words aloud and allow them to seep into your consciousness. If
you aren't sure if this is for you, watch this interview on PBS, listen to him
on NPR, or read an excerpt of his book.

“A Grammy-winning performance poet often seen on HBO’s Def
Poetry, Ivy writes about his negligent father, his own life as a black male,
living in a poor, rough Chicago neighborhood, his devotion to hip hop, and
being in love and all the trials and tribulations that come with it. His memoir
is a mixture of short, narrative, first-person chapters and some of the poems
that he has performed across the country. Clever in his telling of stories, Ivy
appeals to our sense of empathy and plays with our notions of fame in contrast
to his own uncommon path of hard work and aesthetic endurance. What stands out
most here is the redemption and escape Ivy found in language and art, in his
commitment to writing poems and perfecting performance. Ivy finds solace in the
title poem and in conversations with his friends and mentors, including
performers Kanye West and Jay-Z, whose inspiration he shares. Ivy is a focused
poet and entertainer discovering, in poetry and prose alike, the power and
necessity of words.” (Mark EleveldBooklist)

“In his book, Dear Father, J. Ivy delivers a powerful
message of hope, transforming his pain into power. This book represents his
life stories, and how poetry has helped him overcome adversity, allowing his to
make an impactful contribution to humanity.”
Deepak Chopra

Monday, January 19, 2015

When life
hands you lemons one of the best cures is to read a book that’s both tart and
sweet just like a glass of lemonade served on an old-fashioned southern porch. The Secret Wisdom of the Earth is just such
a novel. Debut author Christopher Scotton
opens the story with these assuredly simple, yet evocative words: “The
Appalachian Mountains rise a darker blue on the washed horizon if you’re
driving east from Indiana in the morning. The green hills of the piedmont brace
the wooded peaks like sandbags against a rising tide. The first settlers were
hunters, trappers, and then farmers when the game went west. In between the
hills and mountains are long, narrow hollows where farmers and cattle scratch a
living with equal frustration. And under them, from the Tug Fork to the Clinch
Valley, a thick plate of the purest bituminous coal on the Eastern Seaboard.”

Fourteen-year-old
Kevin Gilooly takes the reader back to the summer of 1985: “It had been two months since my brother,
Joshua, was killed, and the invulnerability I had felt as a teenager was only a
curl of memory. Mom had folded into herself on the way back from the hospital
and had barely spoken since. My father emerged from silent disbelief and was
diligently weaving his anger into a smothering blanket for everyone he touched,
especially me. My life then was an inventory of eggshells and expectations
unmet.”

So
Kevin’s father drives Kevin and his mother to Medgar, Kentucky, the small coal
town where his mother grew up. Everyone hopes that the town and Kevin’s
grandfather, known as “Pops,” will heal them. Pops is a veterinarian, a man
almost universally respected in Medgar. He’s a true hero, as courageous when
standing up for what’s right as he is tireless in handling large animals and
climbing up the face of vertical rock. Kevin also finds a friend in Buzzy Fink,
a kid from the hollows with problems of his own. Pops says, “The Finks
are poor, but they’re proud poor. Esmer runs the Hollow hard. Kids stay in
school, they truck their garbage out once a week. These are solid people.”

As Kevin
heals while assisting Pops on veterinary calls and listening as Pops’ friends
banter over sour mash on the porch, controversy brews. Boyd, the evil owner of the local mine, a
mine that employs a large number of the men in the area, is buying up land
surrounding the town next to the National Forest. He’s already destroyed the “knobs”
or tops of two mountains and poisoned drinking water nearby. Now Paul Pierce, a
local businessman has information that can stop him so Boyd attempts to smear
Pierce by announcing that he’s gay. To most of the town, this isn’t news but to
some having it out in the open is trouble. When Pierce is brutally attacked,
the question isn’t whether Boyd had anything to do with the crime, but who he
used to do the deed. Soon new facts surface and Kevin and Buzzy worry.

Pops takes the boys on his annual “tramp” to climb,
explore, fish, and camp the land that’s been in his family for generations.
After an almost mythical climb and a dangerous creek crossing the boys feel
safe, strong, and confident.

While Pops
and Buzzy sleep, Kevin encounters the “The White Stag” – a legendary creature that
even Pops has never seen. The imposing stag had “kind, sad eyes that seemed to
carry with them the secret wisdom of the earth.” It’s that wisdom that forms not only the book’s
title but also the novel’s basic tenets – wisdom comes from being attuned to
nature and from knowing ourselves and our capabilities. Soon Kevin and Buzzy
will need their newly found confidence to escape a dangerous sniper hell bent
on hurting one of them.

Summing
it Up: If you enjoyed the mystical landscape of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the Southern gothic feel and characters
in Ron Rash’s Serena, or watching a town
and a boy fight evil inWiley Cash’s A Land More Kind Than Home, then The Secret Wisdom of the Earth will
have you holding your breath as you make it down the mountain alongside these
authentic characters. It’s a debut novel and there are some credibility-defying
actions so the book isn’t perfect but it’s quite simply an old-fashioned good
read.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Today would have been my mother’s 93rd
birthday. She died almost twenty years
ago and I still miss her. When I see an
egregious grammatical error, I almost expect to hear the phone ring with her
calling to laugh about it. I miss her
sitting on her porch steps awaiting our arrival as she didn’t want to give up a
single moment of our visits. I miss her
saying “lovely” with dripping sarcasm and accompanying eye rolls when she saw
something tasteless. She was smart; she
was fun; and she epitomized what my grandfather said was our family motto: “Often
wrong but never in doubt.”

I caught my love of reading from her. She also modeled a disdain for what she
called drivel. When she was recovering
from surgery, three of her friends brought her copies Bridges of Madison County to keep her occupied. She looked at me with fear in her eyes and said,
“Jesus Katie, do they think the cancer’s gone to my brain?”

Mom would have enjoyed reading Facebook if only for
Grammarly.com’s posts. She’d be an
evangelist for the disappearing Oxford comma and would be appalled at the
increasing use of “I” instead of “me” when used as an object. She had no respect for her church’s interim
pastor because he used “irregardless” as if it were an actual word and I can
almost hear her asking me to give her one good reason why anyone would ever say
“Where is it at?”

She’d be happy that I still love to read and write and that
I share my lists of books with others. She’d be glad that the copy of Little Women that she inscribed “because
you love to read” as a gift for my eighth birthday is on a nearby shelf where I
can see it. She’d remind me that she reared me well then bemoan the fact that
no one remembers that one raises cattle and rears children.

*The photo above is of the Wells Memorial Library, where I went at least once a week with my mother when I was a child.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

I’m flat out, over-the-top, madly in love with my
friends (sorry, but they aren’t characters) Theodore Finch and Violet
Markey. Finch and Violet are going to
keep you up late at night, they‘re going to interrupt your work, and they’re
going to make you wonder why the rest of the world is acting like nothing
happened.

All the
Bright Places opens with Finch standing at the edge of
his school’s bell tower, six stories above the ground. He wonders if this will
be the day – the day he lets the air carry him away “until there’s nothing.”
The ledge he’s on is about four inches wide and he’s holding his arms out and
shouting when he notices a girl, also on the ledge. He realizes that he knows
who she is and says. “Come her often? Because this is kind of my spot and I don’t
remember seeing you here before.”

Back on terra firma, and no, I’m not going to tell
you how they got down, Finch and Violet are paired together on a geography project
exploring the natural wonders of Indiana. They begin wandering and
discover each other. They shouldn’t fall in love: Violet is popular; Finch isn’t. Half the
school calls him “Theodore Freak” and a good girl like Violet doesn’t belong
with someone like him. Finch may be suicidal but he lives in the present and
appreciates new experiences. Violet is living just to finish the school year,
graduate, and get out of their small Indiana town. She’s grieving her sister’s death and can’t
embrace the present. As they wander, Violet opens up to new experiences and
love and Finch’s world becomes “ultraviolet.”

Wandering Indiana’s bizarre, out-of-the-way places
leads to finding the out-of-the way places within. This reader was surprised
that one of those places was the monastery and gardens just a few blocks from
my home. It’s where I vote and sometimes where my walks lead me and it’s what
some of us call “interesting.” Niven’s
description of it is quite simply perfect.
That she could so precisely capture this spot explained why all the
other places she described, places I’d never been, seemed so real to me. I had visited them all – I saw them through
Violet and Finch’s eyes.

Summing it Up: All
the Bright Places is a universal love story yet it’s as fresh as biting into
an orange on a cold winter’s day. As each section explodes in your mouth, you’re
reminded of the beauty of simply living. A novel dealing with mental illness, depression
and suicide doesn’t usually surprise you and make you laugh but All the Bright Places will do that and
more. If you enjoy reading Gayle Forman,
John Green, and Rainbow Rowell, you’ll want to read All the Bright Places. This book is simply “lovely” as Violet and
Finch might say. It makes me want to hug
my kids, eat carryout from Happy Family Chinese, go on a picnic, and remember
that it isn't what you take, it’s what you leave that matters. Read the first chapter and I can almost guarantee you’ll read the book.

Note: Yes, All
the Bright Places will be a movie and Elle Fanning will play Violet.

Monday, January 5, 2015

The bread pictured here is Tomato Ciabatta with Olives and Onions. I made it this fall because Food & Wine Magazine's recipe stated that it "comes together very easily and requires no kneading." I knew I had to try this recipe but wondered if it would really turn out well. Even after the dough doubled in size, it seemed quite dense. Still I shaped the loaves and placed them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and popped them in the oven. As the loaves baked, I resisted the urge to open the oven to see what they were doing and if they might really become bread with ingredients like tomato paste and quartered cherry tomatoes inside them. Twenty-five minutes later, I opened the oven to a delight - a bread that was savory, chewy, colorful, and with surprises inside. I loved it. A similar experience greeted me when I read the best mysteries and thrillers this year. They delivered tantalizing, colorful stories that I quickly devoured. The best mysteries and thrillers offer surprising twists along with good ingredients: colorful characters, plots that make you wonder if things will turn out well, and inevitably - surprises inside.

2014 – Best Mystery

Natchez Burning by Greg Iles

Dr.
Tom Cage, revered as"Atticus Finch with a stethoscope,” is accused of
murdering his former nurse so his son Penn, town mayor and former prosecutor
(who’s appeared in three previous Iles novels), tries to help him and finds
clues going back to1968 and a group more evil than the KKK. Local reporter Henry Sexton uncovers ties to
the atrocities and Dr. Cage disappears.
Is the doctor guilty and will Penn choose family loyalty over justice?

Iles
credits the investigative reporting of true crimes with inspiring the novel. Some
might think the evil deeds in the book were exaggerated, but reading Iles’
research confirms their existence and why the book rings so true. As Iles
himself says, he’s “telling you what it felt like
to be black or white during that time." At 791 pages it’s just the
right length and this reader hopes the next two volumes of the planned trilogy
offer more of the same.

Note:
It’s Ile’s first book in five years and comes after he almost died in an
accident in 2011. Ileswas working on
Natchez Burning at the time of the
car wreck and the emotional impact of his own survival is clear in the
immediacy of his characters and their reactions to what happens around them.

Runner-Up

The Long Way Home by Louise
Penny

Mysteries
don’t usually elicit tranquility but A Long Way Home filled me with melancholy
then peace. This novel, unlike any other mystery I’ve ever read, showed how
important it is for humans to feel useful, to be brave, and to be kind.
Inspector Gamache doesn’t want to leave Three Pines especially to solve a
mystery or, possibly, to find that something terrible had happened to neighbor
Peter Morrow. Using art and creativity as a metaphor, Penny shows how nothing
great can be created without heart or without feeling. It’s absolutely perfect.

2014 – Best Suspense Novel

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

The
Farm
is a psychological thriller similar to Gone
Girl or Tana French’s novels. When Daniel’s father calls from Sweden to say
that Daniel’s mother is in hospital as she’s psychotic and delusional, Daniel
hurries to Heathrow to fly to see her. Before he boards his mother calls that
she’s on her way to London. She says his father is involved in a criminal
conspiracy and wants here out of the way. Who can Daniel believe? His mother, Tilde, carefully lays out a tale
packed with facts that may or may not prove her allegations. Smith, known for
his espionage thrillers set in Russia, takes a new tack with this riveting tale
of trolls, elk, strangely carved wood, and the darkness of Sweden. Read my full review.

2014 – Best Thriller and Best Debut
Mystery/Thriller

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

This
fast-paced espionage thriller is sure to please. Scott Murdoch, “the Pilgrim,”
retired as one of America’s best secret agents but duty calls him back when an
extremist, dubbed “The Saracen,” plots to destroy the U.S. as revenge against
the Saudi’s for his father’s beheading. Captivating side stories packed with
detail and great minor characters work well. It seemed about 100 pages too long
but it’s still a great read.

Runner-Up

One of Us by Tawni O’Dell

O’Dell’s
suspenseful thriller asks if psychopaths are born or bred and forces the reader
to ponder the difference between evil and mental illness. Sheridan Doyle, a famed forensic psychologist
returns to the coal-mining town where he’s simply Danny Doyle, grandson of
Tommy and son of a mentally ill mother.
There he confronts buried truths and a cold-hearted heiress. O’Dell is well known for her Back Roads, an Oprah selection.

2014 – Best Mystery that Makes You Wonder if Time Stands Still

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

Kate
Murphy is the pretty, privileged new cop on the Atlanta PD in 1974. Excellent period references especially the
playing of Carole King’s Tapestry album
in the background set the stage. There’s a cop killer on the loose and another
cop has died. The police are racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, woman-hating
creeps. They treat the law like a smorgasbord, taking what they want regardless
of who gets hurt. Readers will wonder how much has changed in forty years. Read my full review.

2014 – Best Mystery that Really Gets PTSD

One Was a Soldier by Julia
Spencer-Fleming (published in 2011)

This is
the best yet in this series. Clare Fergusson, Episcopal priest, has just
returned from a tour as a helicopter pilot in Iraq and she’s drinking too much
and having nightmares. This seventh title is from the hymn “I Sing a Song of
the Saints of God” with the words: “one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;” It’s an apt title as the returning
soldier/priest and her Police Chief boyfriend are facing a beast that threatens
their well-being. Clare reluctantly joins a support group to get a young
amputee to attend and there she meets other returning soldiers trying to fight
the beast in differing ways. When one of
them commits suicide (or was it murder?) the group finds that the problems of
Iraq have followed them all home.

2014 – Best Mystery that Takes Place in One Day

The Secret Place by Tana
French

This
girls’ boarding school mystery is typical of French’s strength in delivering
conflicted, believable characters. The book shares the viewpoints of a close knit
group of Irish teens and the “outsider” detectives called in to investigate a
year-old case when a new clue appears. The girl reporting the clue is the
daughter of Frank Mackey, a detective who appeared in French’s first Dublin
Murder Squad tale. She goes to Stephen Moran, Mackey’s former protégé, with the
clue found on the school bulletin board. During Detective Moran and partner Antoinette
Conway’s single day at the school, flashbacks and self-absorbed teens help
build tension toward the denouement while Mackey’s jabs keep things on edge.

2014
– Best Mystery with Irony Sharing the Stage

The
Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Diker

Quebert
is pronounced Kuh-bear thus rhyming with “affair.” Also think Stephen Colbert for a hint to this
tongue-in-cheek whodunit with a famous young author’s novel coming to life in a
tragic way. It was a mega hit in Europe
but the author’s childhood summers in Maine and the setting give it an American
flair. It’s a big, 643-page book you’ll
probably read in one weekend because the twists and switchbacks will keep you
flippin’ those pages and enjoying the wild ride

2014 – Best Mystery about Small Towns and Outsiders

Cover of Snow by Jenny MilchmanThis
cold, piercing debut in which small town newbie Nora Hamilton searches for
answers to why Brendan, her policeman husband, would have killed himself is a
winner. When the police and her mother-in-law freeze her out and homes are set
afire she finds clues in a 25-year-old death, an autistic man’s rhymes, and a
reporter’s research.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

For me a Happy New Year means looking back at the best books of the year and thinking about all the great new books to come. Here are the books I consider the best of 2014 by category. If I've written a complete review or more than is on my
annual list about any of the books listed, I’ve put a link in the title or in the section heading. Short
descriptions of all the titles listed below are alsohere.

After the Wind by Lou Kasischke, Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods by Christine Byl (published in 2013), Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans (Originally titled: Evolving in Monkeytown in 2012, reissued in 2014), Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War by Helen Thorpe, and The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less by Jana Riess (published in 2013)

Euphoria by
Lily King, Let Him Go by Larry Watson
(published in 2013), Lila by
Marilynne Robinson, Lucky Us by Amy Bloom, The Powers by Valerie Sayers
(published in 2013), The Sojourn by
Andrew Krivak (published in 2011)

Cop Town by Karen Slaughter, The Long Way Home by Louise Penny, One Was a Soldier by Julia
Spencer-Fleming (published in 2011), The
Secret Place by Tana French, and The Truth about the Harry Quebert
Affair by Joël Diker

About Me - Trina Hayes

Connecting people with books they'll love is what I do. I lead three book clubs and participate in another. I speak about books to library, university, social and civic groups and I'd love to speak to your gathering. My annual book list of the more than 100 books I read and review every year comes out every November. Find past lists on the pages listed below. Because I'm always hungry for good books, I categorize the books on the lists and on my posts by food groups as explained in the review categories listed below.

Contact me with questions or about hiring me to speak at trinabookhungry@gmail.com or by posting a comment on one of my reviews.